Hey turkana,
Don't you worry your pretty lil ole head over this media properly vetting thing...The media's got that covered big time today...you don't realize that they've got way more important issues to get distract...err ....cover...I mean didya hear that apparently DarthHillary snubbed a kiss from the Big Dawg....in public mind you...I mean can you believe it....what kind of message does action by her send to the world or to the thousands of troops over seas and the terrarist...and the precedent that it's setting here among all those patriotic middle class amerkans that are under/unemployed and/or, are choosing between paying for gas/oil and/or food/medicine and/or find themselves without healthcare and/or whose homes are being foreclosed upon at record levels?
*groan*...Why oh why can't we actually have an establishment media that has moved beyond the social/emotional level of my middle schooler?
Posted by emal at September 7, 2008 09:22 AMRich is a hack, and not our friend. Citing him hurts your argument.
Posted by rilkefan at September 7, 2008 09:30 AMrilke,
his links speak for themselves.
Posted by Turkana at September 7, 2008 09:43 AMLook, I was gonna vote for Obama. He is fresh and articulate. But McCain has shown to be a true Maverick and leader for change with his pick of Palin.
It seems to me Obama chose Biden because he was insecure and needed more foreign policy experience- thats weakness. McCain it appears chose Palin for her record that was courageous and bold. America doesnt like weakness.
I think also many people are missing that Palin will probably attract more men than Hillary supporters. She is every guys dream- good looking, knows sports (was a sportscaster) hunts, fishes, member of the NRA...
Dem's are gonna lose. Its sad really it was their year. They made 2 mistakes though. 1) NOT putting Hillary at the top of the ticket. 2) NOT putting Hillary at the bottom of the ticket. poor Hillary. She could have been the first US woman president. Instead Palin will by after McCains term(s).
tom,
well done. perfect talking points. trying to win a ride on mccain's bus?
Posted by Turkana at September 7, 2008 09:52 AMTurkana - that bus link was hilarious!
Posted by the young Judith (tyj) at September 7, 2008 09:59 AMThe entire week of the Republican convention, from the announcement of Palin to McCain's speech, repeatedly prompted the question: can you imagine what would happen is this were the Democrats?
Frank Rich has been writing similar columns for a few years now. His writing has done nothing to change the way the corporate press/media promotes and protects Republicans.
Similarly, all the writing on all the left and left-center blogs, from Somerby to Media Matters, from the least-viewed to the Great Orange Satan, has done nothing to change the behavior that produced the serial disasters of the Bush/Cheney Junta.
So, with less than two months to go, what is to be done? Any ideas?
Posted by James E. Powell at September 7, 2008 10:24 AMSo, with less than two months to go, what is to be done? Any ideas?
If you look at voter registration and state by state polls, not the national stuff, you see the republi-cons are doing it to themselves.
But McCain has shown to be a true Maverick and leader for change with his pick of Palin.
Me too! When I looked into his pallid death mask face and he told me how he was for change, death, destruction AND 4 more years of Buschco policies I knew I had my candidate!
How can we pass up the opportunity to devalue the dollar to new lows? Busch only dropped it by 40%. McCain can drop it by another 30% his first term alone!
Jobs? Who needs em! And healthcare? If you don't have a job you're no good to anyone else, so just die!
International relations? Shit, we still have nukes!
And the primary reason I want to vote for McCain? So when things get really bad I can watch Americans whore their children to Tijuana donkey shows for extra money!
McCain/Palin 08: Not Tortured By Federal Edict!
Posted by phidipides at September 7, 2008 10:39 AMOn This Week this morning:
clip shown of McCain saying "She (Palin) has foreign policy experience. Alaska is right next to Russia. She understands that."
Obama's reply to George: (chuckling)"I also know that Alaska is next to Russia."
Hilarious.
I actually think the media is doing an ok job so far with Palin. Whenever the bridge to nowhere is mentioned, they jump in with "she was in favor of it until etc etc etc." I've also heard about all her earmarks as mayor on MSM news shows. TIME has a pretty good article on her mentioning all the firings, scandals (Troopergate is the 2nd time she's been sued for wrongful termination), etc. The problem is that she made a good first impression and that's hard to overcome.
From Tom above:
Look, I was gonna vote for Obama. He is fresh and articulate. But McCain has shown to be a true Maverick and leader for change with his pick of Palin.
Is that said without sarcasm? McCain caved to the religious base of the party. He wanted Lieberman or Ridge. How is caving to the religious right being a maverick??
Posted by CG at September 7, 2008 10:47 AMWow, have you guys seen this article? Palin the racist. I'll take it with a small grain of salt for now since it uses anonymous sources.
“So Sambo beat the bitch!”
This is how Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama’s win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
According to Lucille, the waitress serving her table at the time and who asked that her last name not be used, Gov. Palin was eating lunch with five or six people when the subject of the Democrat’s primary battle came up. The governor, seemingly not caring that people at nearby tables would likely hear her, uttered the slur and then laughed loudly as her meal mates joined in appreciatively.
snip (emphasis mine)
Besides insulting Obama with a Step-N’-Fetch-It, “darkie musical” swipe, people who know her say she refers regularly to Alaska’s Aboriginal people as “Arctic Arabs” – how efficient, lumping two apparently undesirable groups into one ugly description – as well as the more colourful “mukluks” along with the totally unimaginative “f**king Eskimo’s,” according to a number of Alaskans and Wasillians interviewed for this article.
But being openly racist is only the tip of the Palin iceberg. According to Alaskans interviewed for this article, she is also vindictive and mean. We’re talking Rove mean and Nixon vindictive.
It goes on--it's pretty long.
Posted by CG at September 7, 2008 11:00 AMWow, have you guys seen this article? Palin the racist. I'll take it with a small grain of salt for now since it uses anonymous sources.
“So Sambo beat the bitch!”
This is how Republican Vice Presidential nominee Sarah Palin described Barack Obama’s win over Hillary Clinton to political colleagues in a restaurant a few days after Obama locked up the Democratic Party presidential nomination.
According to Lucille, the waitress serving her table at the time and who asked that her last name not be used, Gov. Palin was eating lunch with five or six people when the subject of the Democrat’s primary battle came up. The governor, seemingly not caring that people at nearby tables would likely hear her, uttered the slur and then laughed loudly as her meal mates joined in appreciatively.
snip (emphasis mine)
Besides insulting Obama with a Step-N’-Fetch-It, “darkie musical” swipe, people who know her say she refers regularly to Alaska’s Aboriginal people as “Arctic Arabs” – how efficient, lumping two apparently undesirable groups into one ugly description – as well as the more colourful “mukluks” along with the totally unimaginative “f**king Eskimo’s,” according to a number of Alaskans and Wasillians interviewed for this article.
But being openly racist is only the tip of the Palin iceberg. According to Alaskans interviewed for this article, she is also vindictive and mean. We’re talking Rove mean and Nixon vindictive.
It goes on--it's pretty long.
Posted by CG at September 7, 2008 11:01 AMmyiq2xu-
anything in rich's links you care to dispute? thought not.
Posted by Turkana at September 7, 2008 11:26 AMTurkana, your statement is" The corporate media failed their ostensible purpose in 2000 and 2004, and they're failing it again." For the life of me, I don't understand why this line is consistently put forth. What makes you and many others think that Corporate Media is failing?? I see no evidence of that whatsoever. They are succeeding and have, as you mention, succeeded in 00 and 04. They are owned by Republican Conservative Corporations and it is their purpose to succeed in keeping Republican Conservative politicians in office. The people who fail are those, such as yourself and many more, who think they are simply "goofing up" and their "reporters" simply not "reporting properly". Quit dreaming. The Media is doing exactly what they want to do, control the message. Stop waiting for that to change. Doesn't mean we have to sit idly by and watch it happen, but we do need to understand that they aren't just "being poor journalists", they are being "good Republicans".
According to Alaskans interviewed for this article, she is also vindictive and mean.
And that means she has a ton of enemies. Palin wants to stall the Trooper Gate investigation? No problem, except Alaska fast-tracked it. She has her enemies and probably came by them the good old fashioned way -by being vindictive and mean.
Posted by phidipides at September 7, 2008 11:36 AMFor analysis of the republi-con Convention you can count on: Triumph The Insult Comic Dog.
Posted by phidipides at September 7, 2008 12:19 PMTurkana, Sullivan's links speak for themselves. Instapundit's links speak for themselves. If the sources or selection are biased, well, can you refute what they say?
If you want to stand behind the veracity and representativeness of links x, y, and z, that's fine, but quoting liberally from Americablog or Little Green Footballs or wherever and defending yourself by saying, "The links are good, and doesn't Hitchens have a way with English" plain hurts your argument.
Replying snidely instead of maturely to myiq2xu also hurts your argument.
Posted by rilkefan at September 7, 2008 12:29 PMVindictive and mean, just like Bush. That is the face of the GOP, summed up in two words.
You better believe she has enemies, and if I know enemies, they will do everything to destroy her. It is just a matter of time.
rilke,
sorry, but i don't accept comparisons of rich to sully or aravosis. he was off the rails during the primaries, but he's not in their leagues, and his article hits every point, with solid links. he's not just spewing opinion, he's backing it up.
Posted by Turkana at September 7, 2008 12:44 PMPalin wants to stall the Trooper Gate investigation? No problem, except Alaska fast-tracked it.
I wonder if this will actually help her. If the report finds she didn't do anything wrong, it's good for her. If it says she did do something wrong, they will now have more than 4 days (report originally due Oct 13) to spin it to their advantage and it gives time for it to die down before election day.
Posted by CG at September 7, 2008 01:07 PMA politician who doesn't have enemies is a spineless politician. In fact it's my understanding that Palin's biggest enemies are the AK Republican leadership. So those of you who believed Hillary was too polarizing, ponder that. Those who wanted Obama to be the nominee and worked diligently to lace Bill and Hillary as racists, "will do anything" to win and other horrible traits, don't you wish you had a candidate in the general election that had spine and "will do anything to win"?
Blaming the media or the voters won't help.
Posted by Dhyana at September 7, 2008 01:36 PMdhyana,
a lot of us wish we had a different nominee. my first choice didn't run. my next few choices never had a chance. i preferred hillary to obama and didn't even get that. but that's all old news. the question now is whether you want to help make the world a better place or a worse one, and anyone who claims mccain is better than obama is ignorant, lying, unhinged, or depraved. or some combination thereof.
Posted by Turkana at September 7, 2008 01:44 PMright on Turkana. Obama is the Dem candidate and he needs support from the grassroots/blogs because, as we'll all see over the next two months, it won't be coming from the Establishment, both Corporate and Political. They are the ones with the most to lose from a Democratic government. And we are the ones with the most to gain. The choice is as clear as it's ever been.
Posted by T2 at September 7, 2008 02:00 PMoh, and I might add, Obama wasn't my first choice either. Doesn't matter, if it says (D) after the name, I'm in.
Posted by T2 at September 7, 2008 02:02 PMDoesn't matter, Turkana.
Nobody but the already-on-the-bus crowd reads Frank Rich anymore.
He whips up Obama's base---which is an ok thing---but he doesn't appeal to the undecideds or Independents the candidate needs to increase numbers.
It's a wash.
Posted by Mary at September 7, 2008 02:54 PMturkana, sorry, but you simply don't know what you're talking about re Rich. He's been hurting the progressive cause for a decade with his hackery. Surely you can find somebody reputable who links to the same material if you can't link to it yourself.
Posted by rilkefan at September 7, 2008 03:04 PM" BRAZILE: First of all, I don’t think they understand the role of a community organizer, often to help people who are in distress, they’ve lost their jobs, they’ve lost their homes, they’ve lost their health care. And for many of us, it’s a time honored tradition to give back, especially those who have been rewarded with so much.
The Bible says to whom much is given much is required and it comes out of that tradition. So it was insulting to see both, you know, the governor as well as Mayor Giuliani criticize people. There’s some on the Internet now that Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a governor. And perhaps they should understand the role of a community organizer, do help people in distress." From CNN today
There you have it, Obama as Christ, Palin as Pontus Pilate. Just what Americans needed to hear from Donna Bazile. Re-enforces McCain's ad a few weeks ago!
I wonder if this will actually help her.
No. Alaska State Troopers filed an ethics complaint against her. I think the two combined are going to be problematic. Not for the "base", of course. You can't be a true republi-con without being ethically challenged.
There you have it, Obama as Christ, Palin as Pontus Pilate.
Fits right in with the Evangelical analysis that McCain is the anti-christ. Be afraid! Your god is coming for you and he is pissed! No doubt republi-cons will be the goats on the left (Matthew 25:33). No doubt at all.
Posted by phidipides at September 7, 2008 05:35 PMMaybe peter, the Court Jester, will be spared with his cap and bells.
Posted by Copeland at September 7, 2008 05:48 PMWow. Now USA Today/Gallup has McCain up by 54-44.
Stunning. I certainly was wrong about how this is turning out.
Of course, all the models still predict a solid Obama victory -- horrible economy (although the finagled unemployment stats understate the reality -- if 1970s era measurements were used the unemployment rate would be over 10%), horrible wrong-track polling numbers. But somehow either independents have bought into the McCain-change theme and/or latent racism is far more severe than we'd realized.
In any event, if McCain wins we can expect 4 years of hell that will make the last 8 years look like a picnic. In early 2001, you'd have been labeled a conspiracy theorist if you'd have predicted the mainstreaming of torture, the invasion and occupation of two mideastern countries in violation of every international treaty, the incredible road from surplus -> deficit, the multi-year long imprisonment of American citizens without charge or due process, a vast effort to spy on Americans without warrants, the creation of concentration camps for muslims in Cuba and for hispanics in the south, or the fact that middle America doesn't give a shit about any of this. As Krugman said, yesterday's conspiracy theory is today's conventional wisdom.
Continuing the theme, 4 years from now there will be many more trangressions that majority of Americans will have happily accepted. We'll see Roe v. Wade overturned, the outlawing of abortion in the majority of states, and in the majority of counties in the remaining states. Those few places where abortion is allowed will be under extreme pressure, and any violence perpetrated on them will be essentially allowed by the police. Don't believe that? I'll bet you didn't believe 8 years ago that America would proudly torture the innocent either.
Moreover, simple birth control will be harder and harder to obtain, and will no longer be covered by most insurance companies, due to new regulations already introduced by Bush.
It will be nearly impossible for schools to order science books that do not give equal weight to "intelligent design".
The "faith-based" welfare introduced by Bush will be vastly expanded to provide large grants to any pro-Republican church, and the Democrats will just accept this as natural as long as a few percent of the overall grants are given to a few other organizations.
War with Iran will be commenced, and the new Cold War with Russia will be initiated. This time China will side with Russia, creating severe economic consequences for the U.S.
No anti-global warming action will be taken except the granting of large chunks of money to pro-Republican corporations for activities allegedly connected to climate change, but in fact merely subsidize existing operations.
The SCOTUS will rule that the 6th amendment does not apply in time of war, and that the 4th amendment does not apply to anything electronic. They will rule that the 1st amendment prohibition of Congress not passing any law respecting religion does not in any way stop Congress from declaring the U.S. a Christian nation.
The first encroachments on the 2nd amendment by the BATF will begin, but the NRA will rationalize those away. More will come over time.
The Democrats will cave on social security and agree to shift a large amount of social security taxes into private accounts as part of a transition plan. The accounts will be managed by Halliburton. Dissenters like Krugman will argue that this will result in a massive government bailout during the next market downturn, like happened after the Republican deregulation of S&Ls, Banking, and Mortgages, and he'll be proven right in 10 years time, but even though proven right he'll forever be labeled a "whiner".
The number of people without health insurance will grow from 45 million to 75 million. A "Heath Care Provider's Bill of Rights" will be passed that allows them to hire armed guards to keep the uninsured outside of emergency rooms, and prevents the media from reporting on any resulting deaths. Meanwhile, the exact number of uninsured will only be estimated, as McCain will issue an executive order preventing the Census Bureau from tracking such data.
Posted by Anonny at September 7, 2008 07:47 PMAfter all the dirty tricks the DNC pulled to get Obama nominated there will not be a D that I will vote for, for a long time to come.
Hillary got screwed big time and I'm voting for McCain/Palin. Gov. Palin has more than 80% approval in her state and our D Congress has the lowest in history. Obama is a Chicago politician and that is as bad as being a Detroit politician, Biden is a Washington insider big time.
All the blue states have the highest taxes and I'm fed up with it.
Sarah has recitalized me and I say throw the bums out and start all over.
So, Gabi, you are bitter that Hillary did not get the nomination to the extent that you are revitalized by someone who stands against everything Hillary stands for.
Brilliant. Absolutely brilliant.
Posted by Shirin at September 7, 2008 11:38 PMLet's all put them through background checks. Let's see what they have up their sleeves.
Posted by Paula at September 10, 2008 02:32 PM